2013 winter travel guide to South Korea?

Dear GGMMs who plan to go to South Korea, please check it out. I have returned from my trip to South Korea and have many tips to share with you.

1. Money-saving strategy:

1. Exchange Korean won

Strategy:

According to the customs entry and exit regulations, each person can If you carry 20,000 yuan and 5,000 US dollars in foreign exchange out of the country, you will be responsible for the violation - it is up to you to decide, but there are not many things to buy in South Korea. If there are not many gift plans, it is recommended to bring 5,000 yuan in cash.

Exchange rate reference: 1 RMB = about 110-120 Korean won. Generally, shopping in Korea is based on 1,000 won, which is equivalent to 7 yuan.

In South Korea, US dollars and Korean won are accepted. Some places will accept RMB, but very few.

Tips:

It’s best if you have US dollars. It’s going to fall too much anyway, so go spend it; if you are traveling to the countryside in South Korea, bring cash with you. , only card swiping is available in the city.

2. Basic prices

Strategy:

Taxi fares are according to the meter, ordinary taxis are 1,900 won for the first kilometer, 200 won for every three hundred meters, and premium taxis are 200 won for every three hundred meters. Taxi fare is 6,000 won for the first kilometer and 400 won for every three hundred meters. Be sure to tell the difference, the price is twice as much.

Mineral water is 500 won (the cheapest), and drinks are basically about 1,000 won.

It is not unusual to eat 20,000 to 30,000 won per meal

Barbeque pork is about 5,000, beef is more than 10,000

Rice is about 35,000 per bag (40 pounds)

Clothes are about 10,000 (T-shirt)

Headband is about 9,000

Cosmetics are relatively cheap. A set of 20,000 can buy some basic care, and the quality of mid-to-low-end products is okay

Cigarettes (this, raison, and esse) are all 2,500, and duty-free shops cost 17 US dollars. One piece.

Tips:

Don’t expect to eat too well in Korea. Prices in Korea are 5-10 times higher than in China.

3. Communication

Strategy:

In South Korea, only CDMA (133) can be used with international roaming, and other mobile phones cannot be used. Congratulations to China Unicom’s loyal fans, haha.

Tips:

If you have companions traveling with you, consider buying a pair of MOTO FV208 walkie-talkies that have just been launched. They are small, cute, economical, and suitable for couples or friends to travel. You can use it all the time, and you don’t have to worry about your mobile phone.

4. Stay in a hotel

Strategy:

Hotels in South Korea are very clean, but very expensive. Generally, a MOTEL costs 20,000-30,000. Here is a very important thing to remind you. Korean hotels do not have disposable items such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, slippers, combs, bottled body soap, and bottled shampoo. It seems to be for the sake of environmental protection. It's best to bring these things with you and use your own, which is cleaner.

Tips:

When you get to the hotel, do you think there are a bunch of cameras, walkie-talkies, MP3 players and notebooks that need to be charged? The voltage in South Korea is 220V, and the plug is a 2-pin round plug, which is a bit different from the socket in China. You need to bring a converter, otherwise the electronic products will stop working.

5. Shopping

Strategy: Myeongdong is Seoul’s shopping paradise. Myeongdong Street refers to a street about 1 km long from Myeongdong Station of Subway Line 4 to Euljiro and Lotte Department Store. Various brand stores, department stores, bonded stores, etc. are densely packed together. It is known as the center of clothing fashion. You can buy all kinds of clothing, shoes, hats, accessories, etc. that lead the fashion trend. It is characterized by the concentration of many high-quality brand products. First of all, department stores include Lotte Department Store, Shinsegae Department Store, and shopping malls such as U2Zone Mall, Myeongdong Milio Mall, and AbaTar Mall on Myeongdong Street. Department stores mainly buy high-end products, while in bonded shopping malls such as Milio Mall and AbaTar Mall, you can buy fashionable products at low prices. There are also various brand stores gathered in Central Street and the alleys on both sides.

Tip: If you go to a large supermarket like LOTTE Mart, don’t forget to prepare shopping bags for yourself, otherwise ask them for a cardboard box to carry them back. Koreans have a pretty good spirit of environmental protection.

6. Eating

Strategy:

Korea’s eating habits are very different from China’s. Korean food is mainly kimchi and barbecue, and the dishes have very little oil and water. It may not taste good, so it’s best to prepare some convenience foods. However, remember to check in liquids and powders when crossing the border.

Tips:

Don’t expect spicy food that is popular in Korea. The Korean food you usually eat in China is already very unique, and the materials are pretty good. You can try it in Korea. Bring back some snacks, such as seaweed, bibimbap paste, and Lotte chocolate, which are good choices to give away.

7. Cosmetics

You still need to buy some cosmetics in Korea, especially powder, make-up and cosmeceuticals, which are all pretty good.

The high-end ones are free of charge, they are basically mid- to low-end ones, but the quality is still very good.

1 HUE PLACE

A chain store that houses mid- to low-priced cosmetics from Korea’s representative cosmetics company AMORE PACIFIC. Here you can come into contact with and experience a variety of brands at one time, making it very popular among consumers. We welcome. The consumer group in their 20s and 30s is suitable for brands such as LANEIGE, ETUDE, and MAMONDE. The consumer group in their 30s and 40s is suitable for brands such as IOPE and STEM?, and men are suitable for ODYSSEY brand products.

2 BEAUTY CREDIT

This is a cosmetics chain store that sells various brands. In addition to cosmetics, it also sells more than 700 products such as health food, diet food, and tea. Cosmetics are also popular, with mid-to-low-priced brands such as ‘Ruhwaman’ and Korean herbal cosmetics ‘Donnaxian’.

INNISFREE

Cosmetics made from a variety of herbs, each product will give you a relaxing herbal scent. In addition, the European-style designed containers and low prices are a major feature that has won its popularity. It is a good shopping target for female consumers who like plants and herbs.

LANEIGE

AMORE PACIFIC is a cosmetics brand developed for young women in their 20s and 30s, especially the color cosmetics series, which are highly favored by consumers. Prices range from 15,000 won to 30,000 won, which is slightly more expensive than ordinary small brands such as MISSHA. You can try and buy when you visit Laneige Myeongdong store

THE FACE SHOP

A competitive brand that was born to respond to the low-price brand craze started by MISSHA, and Kpop star Kwon Sang-woo is appointed as its spokesperson It has increased the popularity of the brand, and its natural and fresh packaging and quality have also been recognized by the public, and it has surpassed MISSHA in the future.

2. Six practical strategies:

Tactic one:

Choose a reputable travel agency. Faced with all kinds of travel advertisements, we must choose a travel agency with a relatively high reputation. I searched for seven or eight on the Internet in advance, and then made a simple list. This is also a professional habit. Before I retired, I worked in statistics. Table making and analysis are my strengths. The items listed include the name of the travel agency, contact number, travel price, expenses included in the quotation (such as transportation/accommodation/meals/attractions), expenses not included in the quotation (such as domestic transportation/port fees/tips/self-paid attractions), After comparing the settings of tourist attractions and departure locations (Tanggu, Tianjin and Qinhuangdao, Hebei), etc., choose the best travel agency to join the group.

Strategy 2:

Choose a time with suitable climate. I feel that the climate in South Korea is similar to that in Beijing. April and May and August and September are good seasons for traveling. Generally speaking, cold winter and hot summer will affect people's going out. We traveled to South Korea in mid-to-late August, and it was cool every day. If you wear shorts in the morning, you will feel a little cooler, and if you wear long pants at noon, you will not feel hot, so both long pants and shorts are suitable. It was a cloudy day when I visited Gyeongbokgung Palace, and there was no sun at all. The tour guide said: You are really lucky today. The group we led a few days ago caught up with the sunny weather, and everyone was not in the mood to visit due to the sun. Because there are not many trees in Gyeongbokgung Palace, just like the Forbidden City in Beijing does not plant trees to prevent theft. There was a sporadic drizzle in the evening of that day, and we were sitting in the car on the way to dinner. The rain stopped long ago after we finished eating, so our umbrellas were basically useless.

Strategy 3:

Try to remember the tour guide’s introduction. Everyone wants to see more attractions and gain more knowledge when traveling. The tour guide’s introduction is very important. The lady who served as our tour guide this time was a Chinese-Korean who married to South Korea more than ten years ago. In the words of our team leader, she was a senior tour guide. She speaks very strategically and always talks about how "their Koreans" are doing, making you feel that she is Chinese and speaks from your side, making you feel very close to her. During the tour, in the car, she will endlessly introduce the buildings, scenery, attractions, customs, etc. along the way, so that you will not feel that the journey is boring. Most of the interesting stories and allusions I wrote in my travel notes came from introductions by tour guides.

Strategy 4:

Try to avoid shopping in designated tourist stores. Only items that cannot be bought from small vendors, such as Korean ginseng, wine, and cosmetics, can be purchased at designated tourist stores to avoid buying fake ones. Other general small gifts can be bought at small stalls. The quality of the same gifts is similar, but the price varies greatly. When shopping at small vendors in Korea, you can bargain, but the leeway is not very large, and they won't bargain with you. You can buy or not as you wish. There is a place selling ice cream on the street in Myeongdong, Seoul, which is nearly a foot long. It is relatively cheap at 1,000 won, so you can try it.

Strategy 5:

This is the advantage of choosing to take a boat when traveling to South Korea. First of all, the price is cheap. It costs less than 3,000 yuan to travel abroad, which is cheaper than domestic travel. Secondly, taking a boat can get in close contact with the sea and enjoy the happiness that the sea brings to us. There are also seagulls accompanying you when entering and exiting Incheon Pier. You can prepare snacks in advance, such as bread, biscuits, shrimp crackers and other puffed food, to feed the seagulls up close. The ship goes back and forth twice a week. It goes there on Thursday and Sunday and comes back on Wednesday and Saturday. It is best to choose a larger tonnage ship that is more stable to avoid seasickness.

Strategy 6:

It’s about exchanging Korean won. I used Korean won to shop on the ship. I exchanged the Korean won in advance at a domestic bank. The exchange rate at that time was 1:118.5, that is, 1 yuan was exchanged for 118.5 Korean won. There was a special room on the ship for private currency exchange. The exchange rate was 1:116, which was a bit of a loss. The face value of Korean won is generally 1,000 yuan, and there are four types of coins: 500 yuan, 100 yuan, 50 yuan, and 10 yuan. However, like our country's cents, there are very few coins circulating in the market. There is a current exchange rate for exchanging foreign currencies. I exchanged 1,940.74 yuan for 230,000 Korean won. The conversion ratio is 1:118.51, that is, 10,000 Korean won is equivalent to RMB 84.38. If you don't buy big-ticket items, two to three thousand yuan in exchange is enough. If you can’t spend all the Korean won you exchanged on the ship, you can exchange it back for RMB. The prerequisite is that it must be changed at his place.

3. South Korea travel and shopping guide:

There are really many places worth shopping in South Korea. Although many people say that things are expensive, tourists who go to South Korea for the first time still don’t Choosing to go shopping here will allow you to see the cutting edge of fashion and feel that Seoul is indeed an international metropolis. Let me tell you the specific situation below.

1. Myeongdong

If you go there by subway, take Line 4 to 424 Myeongdong Station. Exit 6 will be the main street of Myeongdong. Since we went to N Seoul Tower in the morning, we took the bus directly from Namsan Mountain to Myeongdong. Bus fare is 800 won/person. Get off at the place with this sign (Myeongdong Station)

Myeongdong Station

Go forward about 2 kilometers and see a big intersection, turn left and walk You will see the subway station in a moment, and walk to Exit 6 to see Myeongdong Main Street. Standing at the street corner, looking at the bustling scene inside, you have the urge to rush in. Don't worry, take a look at the street stall. My husband bought a hat from there. Haha, it cost 5,000 won, not bad. Behind you is Myeongdong Main Street.

Shopping, haha, I am really dazzled. Every alley that intersects with the main street is full of shops, including world brands and local Korean brands. I finally feel what it means to be dazzled. "Yes." Don’t be in a hurry to shop. It’s more important to have a full stomach. When you come to Myeongdong, you must eat Jeonju Bibimbap. Walk along the main street and turn left at the first intersection. Walk a while and you will see me on the street. The old man standing at the corner of the street was mentioned in one article. I followed the alley he pointed to and saw the famous Jeonju Central Hall. There were many people and you almost had to queue up.

After eating and drinking, you can start shopping. When you come here, you can go shopping to your heart's content. No matter which alley you go to, it will be the same bustling. We walked along the main street. Girls, of course, are most concerned about cosmetics. I like Korean cosmetics very much. I think European and American brands are more suitable for older people, and Korean cosmetics are more suitable for Asian skin, and are mostly based on plants, which is closer to the skin. Natural and will not cause harm to the skin. My favorite is SKINFOOD. Their advertisement is about edible cosmetics. They are all extracted from pure plants and will not have any negative effects on the skin. Show me what I failed at. It's a bit messy, haha. Highly recommend the gold caviar series. When you enter a cosmetics store, you will be given some gifts. Although they are just cotton pads and the like, they are still useful things. I got a lot of cotton pads from this trip, haha.

There is another place you must visit when you come to Myeongdong, which is Lotte Department Store and Lotte Duty Free Shop, which are at the Euljiro subway entrance station. Walk about a kilometer along the main street and you will see a large intersection with an information kiosk that provides English services and you can ask for directions. When you get there, turn left and keep walking. You will see a building across the road. At that time, Lotte Young Plaza will continue to turn right. Not far away, you will see Lotte Department Store. Lotte Duty Free is on the 9th and 10th floors of Lotte Department Store. There you can buy the cosmetics you want from other national brands, and of course, they are absolutely cheap. If you buy it at a duty-free shop, you need to get it after checking in at the airport. If you buy it at Lotte Department Store, you need to go through the tax refund procedures in the lobby outside the first floor. You need to go to the airport to get the tax refund after checking in. We bought an IPODTOUCH 2nd generation in APPLESHOP, 16G for 37,000 Korean won, and can get 6% tax refund, which is less than 1,800 yuan per cent, which is great value. Now it is sold in Hong Kong for 2,400 Hong Kong dollars. IPODNANO is only 18,000 Korean won, but it sells for more than 1,100 RMB at Bainaohui in Tianjin. So take advantage of the low exchange rate to go shopping in South Korea! I also saw a PSP3000, which is only 705 RMB when converted into RMB. There is no point in buying another one if you already have a PSP2000, but it is very honorable to buy one and give it away, haha.

2. Dongdaemun

When it comes to buying clothes, it is better to go to Dongdaemun. It is the most popular department store in South Korea. I remember that in MyGirl, Ju Yulin once said that she would take the clothes Seol Gongchan bought for her to Dongdaemun and sell them, which shows Dongdaemun's popularity.

Dongdaemun is suitable for shopping at night. It is open until 5 a.m. the next morning. I really admire the strength of Korean shopping. You can go shopping from 10:00 in the morning (Korean shopping malls usually open at 10:00) until the early morning of the next day!!! The most recommended one is Doota (Doosan Tower). This has always been the most popular shopping mall in Korea. The main group is the general consumer group, so you can bargain at will. It will definitely let you enjoy the fun of bargaining. Don’t Sorry, it doesn’t matter if they speak the language, as long as they can speak numbers, most of them will speak some English. Just stick to the price you want, and you can basically get 20% off. I bought a very Korean style shirt and a small jacket. The clothes on the 1st floor are average, the women's clothes on the 2nd floor are very beautiful and trendy, and I really admire their matching. The 3rd floor is men's clothes, the 4th floor is bags, the 5th floor is accessories, the 6th floor is children's clothes, and the 7th floor is some sundries. , the 8th to 10th floors are restaurants, but they were closed when we went (around 12 o'clock at night, haha). Korean jewelry is really beautiful, no wonder it is so famous, but the price is not cheap, basically more than 100 yuan. . There are two other buildings you can see from Doosan Tower, Migliore and HelloapM, but I think these two are not as good as Doosan Tower, so I took a quick look around. It is recommended that you don’t need to go shopping. It is more important to go back to the hotel early and sleep to recharge your batteries. By the way, when you go to Dongdaemun, you can also see the Cheonggyecheon River, a river that proves the development history of the Joseon Kingdom for 500 years.

We only visited these two places and our time was limited. We will continue the rest next time we come to Korea.

One more thing to note, there is nothing to do in Itaewon. The hotel we stayed in was very close to there. We took a short walk on the way to the subway station. It was not interesting. If you don’t have much time, there is no need to go there. .

3. PREMIUMOUTLETS Famous Brand Outlet Center

This group spent half a day going to Yeoju PREMIUMOUTLETS Famous Brand Outlet Center. Personally, I think it is worth going to Nike, Addidas and other sports brands. The discount was huge, but we didn't buy it. We went to Leiv's store and it was really cheap. The jeans were on sale for just over 200 RMB. But I don't know whether it's because I'm too fat or Koreans are too thin, because the pants are so thin. I fell in love with cotton-padded clothes, but was told that the small size was no longer sold, which ended in failure. Then my husband bought a fleece jacket from his family at a super low price of more than 240 yuan. It would have cost 800 yuan in China. What a profit! < /p>

4. Taxi

Finally, let’s talk about Korean taxis. You must choose gray or white taxis. These are ordinary taxis and are cheaper. The basic fee is 1,900 won within 2 kilometers, and an additional 100 won is charged every 144 meters or 35 seconds. There are also black model taxis and large taxis. The basic fare is 4,500 won within 3 kilometers, and an additional 200 won is charged every 164 meters or 39 seconds. So if you are not too far away in Korea, you can choose to take a taxi, which is very cheap. The car also has GPS and driver information.